Ema
Mediterranean restaurant · 74 W Illinois St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States · United States
★ 4.6 on Google · 5,764 reviews · View on Google Maps
Manipulation score
SuspiciousCompleted Aug 5, 2026 · 314 reviews flagged
How this score works
The score estimates how strongly this place's review record matches known manipulation patterns, from 0 (no signs) to 100. Verdicts: Clean below 40, Suspicious from 40, Likely Manipulated from 70. It rises with the share of reviews flagged and how suspicious each one is.
- Burst
- — an abnormal spike of five-star reviews in a single day compared to the place's usual pace.
- Low activity account
- — the reviewer has almost no other reviews, photos, or Local Guide history; throwaway accounts look like this.
- Duplicate text
- — the wording is nearly identical to another review of the same place.
Verdicts are statistical estimates based on public review patterns, not accusations.
Review anatomy
Reviews examined
1,000
Flagged
314
31% of examined
Flagged avg rating
4.9★
place average 4.6★
Reviews per month
| Month | Reviews | Flagged |
|---|---|---|
| Jan ’26 | 52 | 40 |
| Feb ’26 | 119 | 42 |
| Mar ’26 | 131 | 43 |
| Apr ’26 | 138 | 39 |
| May ’26 | 181 | 53 |
| Jun ’26 | 150 | 39 |
| Jul ’26 | 196 | 48 |
| Aug ’26 | 33 | 10 |
Rating distribution
Evidence
-
burst
8 occurrences — worst: 13 five-star reviews on 2026-02-01 vs avg 1.7/day
weight 1
Show all 8
- 3 five-star reviews on 2026-01-20 vs avg 0.1/day
- 3 five-star reviews on 2026-01-22 vs avg 0.2/day
- 9 five-star reviews on 2026-01-24 vs avg 0.4/day
- 4 five-star reviews on 2026-01-26 vs avg 0.8/day
- 5 five-star reviews on 2026-01-28 vs avg 0.9/day
- 6 five-star reviews on 2026-01-30 vs avg 1.2/day
- 8 five-star reviews on 2026-01-31 vs avg 1.4/day
- 13 five-star reviews on 2026-02-01 vs avg 1.7/day
- low activity account 271 reviews flagged weight 0.8
- duplicate text 15 reviews flagged weight 0.9
Flagged reviews
Exhibit — 7 reviews, near-identical wording
Food was good and flavorful. Service was great.
- TrickArtist1 ★★★★★ 2026-02-01 suspicion 95
- Samuel Brazell ★★★★★ 2026-03-24 suspicion 55
- Vivian Kilada ★★★★★ 2026-05-16 suspicion 68
- Zach Dagan ★★★★★ 2026-05-26 suspicion 90
- Christy Underwood ★★★★★ 2026-06-27 suspicion 90
- Neila Baumilienė ★★★★★ 2026-07-12 suspicion 74
- Karun Biyani ★★★★★ 2026-07-31 suspicion 65
Exhibit — 4 reviews, near-identical wording
Excellent service by Diego and Ana in food
- Michael Jones (MJ) ★★★★★ 2026-02-18 suspicion 68
- Hustle and Float Soul Line Dancers ★★★★★ 2026-03-29 suspicion 79
- Susana Tirado ★★★★★ 2026-05-03 suspicion 79
- Rob Hanauer ★★★★★ 2026-06-22 suspicion 68
Exhibit — 4 reviews, near-identical wording
Ran out of frozen yogurt
- Dalal Rabadi ★ 2026-05-16 suspicion 90
- Vinny M ★ 2026-05-16 suspicion 90
- Raymond James ★ 2026-05-16 suspicion 90
- Rocky Harrington ★ 2026-05-16 suspicion 100
Showing the 10 most suspicious of 299 remaining flagged reviews.
Jacob and Emily
activity unknown
★★★★★
2026-02-01
Venkata Anurag Bhaskarla
activity unknown
★★★★★
2026-02-01
Luis De Anda
1 review
★★★★★
2026-02-01
anvi patel
2 reviews
★★★★★
2026-02-01
Keith Burt
activity unknown
★★★★★
2026-01-31
Courtney Coan
activity unknown
★★★★★
2026-01-31
Bill Brumett
1 review
★★★★★
2026-01-31
Charlotte Wisthuff
activity unknown
★★★★★
2026-01-31
Shannon Callinan
1 review
★★★★★
2026-01-30
Nick Marshall
1 review
★★★★★
2026-01-28
Report generated Aug 5, 2026. Reviews change — you can request a fresh investigation.
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